Mayer Hawthorne & The County

For as much commotion has been made of the physical demise of strong cities like Detroit, that citys friendliest ghosts still manage to linger in the music of today, thumping a strong, vibrant heartbeat that isn't going away any time soon. A product of Ann Arbor, MI (about 40 miles outside of Detroit), Mayer Hawthorne's soulful songs make him sound like a modern man possessed by these benevolent spirits. Buttery bedroom ballads, moody mope-sterpieces, and hand-clapping/foot-stomping shimmy-shaking jams are all equally represented in Hawthorne's wheelhouse, and all serve as fantastic backdrops to Hawthorne's warm, throaty falsetto and lovelorn confessionals. Re-invigorating the Stax and Motown catalogs through the progressive lens of Peanut Butter Wolf's Stones Throw label, Hawthorne is simultaneously the past and future wrapped into one harmonious package. With Gordon Voidwell. GREGORY FRANKLIN